Contribution of Dead Wood to Biomass and Carbon Stocks in the Caribbean: St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands

Abstract

Dead wood is a substantial carbon stock in terrestrial forest ecosystems and hence a critical component of global carbon cycles. Given the limited amounts of dead wood biomass and carbon stock information for Caribbean forests, our objectives were to: (1) describe the relative contribution of down woody materials (DWM) to carbon stocks on the island of St. John; (2) compare these contributions among differing stand characteristics in subtropical moist and dry forests; and (3) compare down woody material carbon stocks on St. John to those observed in other tropical and temperate forests. Our results indicate that dead wood and litter comprise an average of 20 percent of total carbon stocks on St. John in both moist and dry forest life zones. Island‐wide, dead wood biomass on the ground ranged from 4.55 to 28.11 Mg/ha. Coarse woody material biomass and carbon content were higher in moist forests than in dry forests. No other down woody material components differed between life zones or among vegetation categories (P > 0.05). Live tree density was positively correlated with fine woody material and litter in the moist forest life zone (R= 0.57 and 0.84, respectively) and snag basal area was positively correlated with total down woody material amounts (R= 0.50) in dry forest. Our study indicates that DWM are important contributors to the total biomass and, therefore, carbon budgets in subtropical systems, and that contributions of DWM on St. John appear to be comparable to values given for similar dry forest systems.

From seedlings to trees: Using ontogenetic models of growth and survivorship to assess long-term (>100 years) dynamics of a neotropical dry forest

“…However, there might be very little turnover of carbon, because of low decomposition rates. In St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, dead wood and litter was found to comprise an average of 20% of total carbon stocks in moist and dry life zones (Oswald et al, 2008). Therefore, these forests should also be considered as equally important carbon sinks.…”

Deadwood specific density and its influential factors: A case study from a pure Norway spruce old-growth forest in the Eastern Carpathians

“…Bütler et al, 2007), and its importance in the carbon cycle has recently been recognized (Kueppers et al, 2004;Woodall et al, 2008;Olajuyigbe et al, 2011), suggesting that forest carbon balance estimates calculated without considering CWD are inaccurate (Rice et al, 2004). The contribution of deadwood to the total forest carbon stock reported in the literature ranges between 16% and 20% (Oswalt et al, 2008;Alberti et al, 2008) depending on the species, the productivity and the stand structure.…”

Zalihe biomase mrtvog drva u šumskim ekosustavima bukve (Fagus sylvatica L.) na području zapadnog Balkana, Bugarska

“…Kueppers et al (2004) studied the dead wood biomass and the rate of decay in altitude gradient. According to Oswalt, Brandeis (2008), the dead wood is an important part of the total biomass and should be also considered when assessing carbon stocks. In Bulgaria investigations on quantity and distribution of dead wood in representative forest plant communities are insufficient.…”